Obama administration fully committed to implementing N-deal: Clinton

By Arun Kumar Washington, June 17 (IANS) The Obama administration is fully committed to implementing the landmark India-US civil nuclear deal, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has declared noting that it had “removed the final barrier to broader cooperation between us.”

The deal provided a framework for economic and technical cooperation between the two countries and allowed them to move beyond concerns about the status of India’s nuclear programme, she said at the US-India Business Council’s (USI BC) Synergies Summit here Wednesday.

Noting that the status of India’s nuclear programme had “dominated our relationship for much of the last decade”, Clinton said the completion of the deal marked the culmination of the “second stage” in the history of India-US relations.

“This landmark accord, which the Obama administration is fully committed to implementing, provides a framework for economic and technical cooperation, between our two countries, and allows us to move beyond our concerns about the status of India’s nuclear program, an issue that dominated our relationship for much of the last decade.”

“The nuclear deal, which was completed through the efforts of former President (George) Bush, removed the final barrier to broader cooperation between us,” she said.

“And that brings us to today, she said giving the first exposition of the new administration’s agenda for India. “We find ourselves at the beginning of a third era. I’ll call it U.S.-India 3.0.”

“The new governments in Washington and New Delhi will build this future together,” she said. The details of the new partnership would be discussed during her visit to India next month.

“But today, I can tell you, my hope and President Obama’s hope, that the next stage in our countries’ relationship will see a dramatic expansion in our common agenda and a greater role for India, in solving global challenges,” Clinton said.